Simple Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
on Oct 05, 2020, Updated Jan 18, 2025
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A perfect three-ingredient recipe for cooking sweet potatoes. Because sweet potatoes+butter+salt+heat are a winning combination.
This three-ingredient dish might get more compliments than any other side, and only you will know how easy it was to make! The hardest part is cutting up the potatoes. This dish also reheats like a dream. Serve this at any holiday meal, but also make it for cold weather weeknight dinners. It pairs really well with Dedie’s Herbed Salmon, Roast Beef with Mustard Garlic Crust, or Oven-Baked Beef Brisket.
You are either going to read this recipe and think, “Why does this person think I need this recipe?” Or you are going to read this and think, “Oh yes, that is exactly what I need to do with my sweet potatoes this fall! It’s so simple and perfect, and I am going to make them every week all fall and winter long. And I will offer to bring them for Thanksgiving because I will look like a hero, and then Aunt Ida will finally stop shooting me those looks and maybe even stop asking me if I’ve found a boyfriend.”
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This might be a lot to expect from a three-ingredient sweet potato dish. But it will deliver because sweet potatoes+butter+salt+heat are a winning combination. The sweetness of the butter amplifies the sweetness of the potatoes; the solids in the butter caramelize to become brown butter as the potatoes roast, and you have won sweet potatoes for the day.
What's In This Post?
Simple Butter Roasted Sweet Potatoes: A perfect three ingredient recipe (including the salt!). Because sweet potatoes+butter+salt+heat are a winning combination.
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes – Roasting really brings out the natural sweetness of the potatoes while they get beautifully crispy around the edges and soft on the inside.
- Butter – The butter solids caramelize into brown butter during roasting and add an incredibly sweet and nutty flavor that tastes much more complex than you might expect.
- Salt – Balances the sweetness of the potatoes and brings out the flavor.
- Pepper – Use freshly ground pepper. This recipe has very few ingredients, so the quality of each one really counts!
Variations
- You can also slice baby sweet potatoes crosswise into 1-inch slices instead of cubing larger potatoes.
- You could add a drizzle of honey or a sprinkle of brown sugar to the potatoes with the melted butter if you want to amplify the sweetness of the potatoes even further. But use restraint, and don’t go overboard with added sweeteners; remember that the potatoes have a lot of natural sweetness.
- Feel free to throw in any spices you like at the seasoning stage of this recipe. You could also add a little sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Add a couple of handfuls of blanched pearl onions to roast alongside the potatoes.
How to Make Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Season the potatoes: Place the cubed sweet potatoes on the baking sheet, drizzle over some melted butter, then sprinkle over the salt and pepper. Toss, then spread them out in a single layer.
- Roast: Roast in a preheated 425-degree oven for about 35 to 40 minutes, turning them midway through the cooking if you can.
What to Serve With Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Garlic
- Bulgur Wheat, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Gratin
- Mashed Yukon and Sweet Potatoes with Sautéed Leeks
- Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet Potato Spoonbread
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Simple Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes (scrubbed or peeled; cut into 1 ½-inch cubes)
- ¼ cup (half a stick) unsalted butter (melted)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment if you like, and spray with nonstick spray.
- Place the potatoes on the baking sheet, drizzle over the butter, then sprinkle over the salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes so that they are nicely coated with the butter, spread them out in a single layer, and then place in the oven and roast for about 35 to 40 minutes, turning them midway through the cooking if you remember and your world allows for this to happen.
Notes
- You can also slice baby sweet potatoes crosswise into 1-inch slices instead of cubing larger potatoes.
- You could add a drizzle of honey or a sprinkle of brown sugar to the potatoes with the melted butter if you want to amplify the sweetness of the potatoes even further. But use restraint, and don’t go overboard with added sweeteners; remember that the potatoes have a lot of natural sweetness.
- Feel free to throw in any spices you like at the seasoning stage of this recipe. You could also add a little sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Add a couple of handfuls of blanched pearl onions to roast alongside the potatoes.
Just wondered, since I’ll make these at home and then drive to daughter’s…can these be reheated and how? Thx!
yes – just reheat in the over until hot! you can aim for a 325°F oven for 15 or so minutes, but if the oven is already on hotter, just keep an eye on them and take them out when hot.
These are the best sweet potato/yams I have ever had!!! I made this recipe for supper this evening. My husband is diabetic so I was looking for a recipe that had no sugar added but allowed the natural flavor of the sweet potatoes to shine. I found it. This recipe delivers. Thank you for posting this simple but perfect take on sweet potatoes.